Chapter 370: One Unexpected Event After Another
Four rounds, and they needed to extinguish the last lamp above Dog Head.
Qin Dingdong knew her time was running out. From the current situation, the "Poisonous Miasma" might be even more dangerous than the "Cold Current."
Many kinds of toxic gases could cause massive damage to the human body—touch them and you die.
"I originally wanted to participate in this game as an ordinary person, but it seems that won't work anymore." Qin Dingdong covered her mouth and nose, looking at Digou. "Classmate Digou, if you're going to treat me like this, don't blame me for bullying you..."
Su Shan noticed that the light in Qin Dingdong's room seemed strange. She quickly turned her head to look.
The two orbs of light gathered beside Qin Dingdong began to move slowly. They arranged themselves in an orderly fashion and then collided precisely into each other.
Two Chinese characters suddenly appeared out of thin air, crystal clear.
「Forgery」
"Sister here... is a famous swindler, you know."
Qin Dingdong slowly closed her eyes, picked up her "Autumn Wind Sweeps Fallen Leaves" and stroked it for a while. Before long, she gently put it back down. She hadn't expected to have to use the same trick she'd employed against Diyang's "Four Emotions Fan" again.
"What a pity... this 'lot' is a fake..." she murmured to herself. "So where is the real 'Autumn Wind Sweeps Fallen Leaves'?"
After saying this, Qin Dingdong made no further moves. She just stood still in place, slowing her breathing as much as possible, covering her mouth and nose within the poisonous miasma.
She knew she might die, but she might also be saved.
Su Shan saw the two orbs of light separate again after colliding, hovering back to their original positions as if nothing had happened.
Although Su Shan was somewhat puzzled, time was pressing. She could only look down at the lot she had just drawn—still "No Idle Land Under Heaven."
But given the current situation, playing "No Idle Land Under Heaven" was not a wise move. Everyone was in danger, and whether it was the "Cold Current" or the "Poisonous Miasma," both had a high probability of causing death. So even if she could play "No Idle Land Under Heaven" this round and defeat Digou, she would still face a more practical problem—
Would Digou open the room doors after the game ended?
Before the game started, Digou had said that everyone had eight rounds to defeat the "Nian Beast." But now, they were about to extinguish the "Nian Beast's" lamp in the fifth round. None of the rules mentioned anything about "opening the doors." The only clear rule was that "the calamity will not stop until it is resolved."
Thinking further about Digou's motives, it was obvious that he was fully committed to his work. His goal was not to end this game quickly but to kill people.
From this, it could be inferred that if the "calamity" was not resolved before the game ended, her teammates would definitely die in this game.
Now she had to take a gamble. If luck was on their side this round and everyone happened to be able to resolve each other's "calamities," then all four of them could survive together.
"We need to slow down the pace..." Su Shan took a deep breath and said. "'Winning' is already a foregone conclusion... what's more important now is surviving..."
The best plan now was to stop the game at the eighth round. After all, Digou had said before the game started that "no matter what happens in the eighth round, the game will end."
"As expected of a referee... hiding such an important matter." Su Shan nodded. "This is a fake 'besiege the city, leave an opening.' It looks like you've left us a 'way out,' but if we charge in without looking back, you'll wipe us out completely. Sure, extinguishing your three lamps means we 'win,' but who says 'winning' means you won't die?"
Su Shan looked at the lots in her hand. Now she had "Peace Lot," "Peace Lot," and "No Idle Land Under Heaven."
Just as she had expected, the remaining time would only yield "Peace Lots" and "Firecrackers."
But were there really still "Firecrackers"?
The game had already consumed two "Firecrackers to Bid Farewell to the Old Year." Was it possible there was a third?
"No... that's impossible." Su Shan shook her head. "If this game had three 'Firecrackers to Bid Farewell to the Old Year,' then there would be no need for 'cooperation' at all. Everyone could just wait quietly for the 'Firecrackers' to come, and all the problems in this game would be solved. To highlight the cooperative nature, everyone would have to complete 'No Idle Land Under Heaven' at least once in full. So there can be at most two 'Firecrackers to Bid Farewell to the Old Year.'"
Now she had wasted one "Firecracker," so from here on, everyone could only draw "Peace Lots."
Her deduction had taken another big step closer to the truth. To win now, she only needed to wish for a complete set of "No Idle Land Under Heaven." But before that, she had to save her teammates.
She settled on a strategy and invested one "Peace Lot."
"Fifth round, first person 'Wish' complete. Now, second person 'Draw Lot.'"
At the same time, a "Peace Lot" appeared in Zhang Chenze's room.
Since "Spring" had made no moves, "Summer" could only pass by without any effect.
By now, Zhang Chenze had already killed a massive number of locusts in her room. Her face was stained with yellow-brown fluid, and she looked terrible.
The locusts crawling on the glass had decreased significantly, allowing Zhang Chenze to see the situation around her.
Whether it was because she had gotten used to these insects or because of the influence of the "Echo," despite feeling a hint of guilt toward the mountain of locust corpses at her feet, she comforted herself that this was all unavoidable.
Zhang Chenze stood up, used her hands to push the insects off the glass wall, and then looked at the situation in Linqin's room.
Her glass wall was already covered in frost, looking extremely cold. The "Cold Current" that Digou had mentioned earlier was evidently now being applied to Linqin's room.
"Damn..."
A look of panic appeared on Zhang Chenze's face as she remembered that lot that had "escaped"—
"Bright Sun Caresses the Earth."
It seemed that only this lot could save Linqin. But it had already burrowed into the pile of corpses on the ground, moving flat against the surface, completely out of sight.
With "Torrential Rain Pours Down" in hand, she bent down and began rummaging through the heap of locust corpses on the floor.
There was no denying it—"bugs" were truly terrifying creatures. Even when their abdomens were crushed flat or their heads smashed, their remaining limbs still twitched and moved on their own. Some locusts, their bellies flattened against the ground, were even lying there, greedily devouring the entrails squeezed out of other locusts' crushed abdomens.
If the "End of Days" was a hell for humans, then this glass room in the "End of Days" was a hell for locusts. Just one glance at it sent chills down the spine.
Zhang Chenze tried not to let these bugs distract her. She lowered her head, searching for that "Bright Sun Caresses the Earth."
But before a few seconds had passed, the "Torrential Rain Pours Down" in her hand twitched and slipped out of her fingers, escaping as well.